Dec 3, 2021

Ten books from my 2021 list

My 2021 reading list stands at book number 112. I almost missed adding the Audible books I listen to during my morning perambulations around Karthi. I sometimes wonder if I walk for the exercise or to listen to the books! Due to the heavy rains of the past month, I have not been able to complete my current Audible book and I look forward to doing it next week. 

So here are my favorites from this year, not in order of excellence:

  1. Layla by Colleen Hoover: The first book I read from this author was November 9,  which intrigued me because it's the date of my sister's birthday. She has the immense gift of drawing the reader right into the midst of the raw emotions of the protagonists. It is so admirable a talent. I liked Layla because Hoover has attempted a paranormal thriller romance. And it is thrilling till the very end. 
  2. A Man called Ove by Fredrik Backman: Backman charmed me with the long-winding title of another book: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. Ove is a curmudgeonly gent who is determined to efface himself after his wife's death. He is so crotchety and obsessive that we are tempted to hate him at the beginning of the story. And then the layers are revealed slowly... Beautiful book. 
  3. The Lord Wimsey Series by Dorothy L. Sayers: Do you know that this series is available for peanuts on Kindle? I had read most of these books from the public library, not in order, and skipped a few. But on Kindle, they are available in their complete glory. The difference between Sayers' works and her more popular contemporary Christie's works is that Christie's works are a little more of the cookie cutter variety, while Sayers' books are more literary in nature. And starting in the fifth book is the thread of romance between Wimsey and Vane. I wish they were in print today because I would have loved to buy the last three of the series: The Nine Tailors, Gaudy Night and the Busman's Honeymoon. They are worth going back to from time to time for their prose and the picture of England of those times. 
  4. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: Ezmo the dog has one ambition, to be as human-like as possible. In fact, he would like to take birth as a human being just to be able to shake his friend Denny's hand. Funny, sad, clever, suspenseful... All that you would want in a book. 
  5. A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck: A YA romance, heart-wrenching. Opening is so simple and trivial, one has no idea how it will punch later.
  6. The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa: Another novel in which an animal is a narrator, only in this it is a cat. The cat and his partner travel across Japan, rediscovering a few old friends. 
  7. Perfume by Patrick Suskind: The sheer revulsion evoked by the protagonist of this fantasy novel is remarkable. After reading it, I became proud of my anosmia as I would have been immune to the nefarious schemes laid by Grenouille!
  8. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See: Till I read this book, I hadn't known that there were aboriginal tribes of Chinese. Through the life time of a girl from the Akha tribe, the novel covers a wide range of subjects: effects of the One Child policy, attempts to assimilate indigenous people into mainstream culture, child adoption scams, and the overarching story of tea. It was slow-going at the beginning, but I am glad that I persisted.
  9. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett: Now here is an author who paints such wonderful word pictures that reading one of her stories is like stepping into a colorful, many-layered masterpiece. The characters stay around a long time after the book is closed. The house is the main character in this story: it repels some, it attracts some, some cannot get out of its magnetic field, some need to get rid of it and some need to acquire it. The dysfunctional extended family that revolves around the house somehow need it to complete themselves.
  10. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman: If you miss the old-fashioned murder mysteries a la Christie, this is the book for you! A group of feisty seniors in an up-scale retirement home meet on Thursdays to discuss old crimes. But soon enough, they have to deal with murder on their door steps. Red herrings abound and ingenious solutions enlighten. Looking forward to reading the next in the series in the new year.

These are the books I liked the best this year, so far. Other titles that I liked very much: 

  1. Zen in the Art of Writing: Ray Bradbury
  2. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird: Josie Silver
  3. The Flatshare: Beth O' Leary
  4. The Winter Garden: Kristin Hannah
  5. Love Lettering: Kate Clayborn
  6. Recipe for a Perfect Wife: Karma Brown
  7. The Housekeeper and the Professor: Yoko Ogawa
  8. Garden Spells: Sarah Addison Allen
  9. A Little Paris Bistro: Nina George
  10. Needlemouse: Jane O' Connor
Ok, I shall stop here for fear of duplicating my 2021 reading list. I can guarantee you that if you pick any one of these, you are in for an engrossing read. Happy reading!

Oct 15, 2021

Glimpses from two years...


Compared to the photo folders starting from 2002, when we first switched to digital cameras, the one for 2020 is very sparse. Then, to my horror, I discovered that I had even omitted to make a folder for this year - 10 months into 2021! All our pictures are still on our phones and have not been synced. A mistake that I have sought to rectify. Along the way, I saw a few pictures that I wanted to share with you—in no particular order. I've highlighted earlier references to my blog in green. Click on them if you want to read more!


Celebrating my birthday with my sis and nephew (behind the camera) during MBIFL 2020. The last memorable time I visited a restaurant for a sit-down meal, I think.

 

Row of Ponkala pots waiting for the consecration and a line of devotees waiting for lunch... Last public function/festival attended..

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The streets were quiet, no growling, prowling beasts. So the peafowl chose to cross over from the wildernesses and grace our yard.


My first haircut during the lockdown. Poor Ani was the guinea pig. I had put the trimmer at the longest setting for the back and sides. Unfortunately, Kunju distracted me as I was tapping off the hair on the trimmer and the length went to zero. I kept my head and uttered not one peep when disaster struck in the next swipe. Even while taking this picture, Ani didn't know how his haircut actually looked. It was two days later that he came to me saying, "Amma, I don't know why, but a part of the back of my head feels very prickly." I RAN!!!

 

My painting helper who made the project a breeze. Very protective of his coiffure, as you can see...

 

The black and white kitten who grew up into an exceedingly handsome tuxedo cat with white gloves and socks. He was so fond of snuggling that if he was allowed inside while I was doing Sudarshan Kriya or meditation, he would curl up in my lap and lie there the whole time. It helped center me better. He has since disappeared, but we are grateful for all the lockdown cuddles and candid picture moments like this...

 


Teach a kid to make chappati dough and he will give you this! I screamed when I opened the container to make the chappatis!!!



A picture that I love looking at and a process that I will never, ever repeat! Much as the color gradient is attractive, it was a headache to find books. Yikes!!!

 

Soaped hands are germ-free. Give soap to a teen with too much time on his hands and...

 


My coral jasmine making me smile in the midst of the pandemic. 

 

A pair of Indian cormorants nesting in Thekkady, the only trip we undertook in December before things got really bad Covid-wise in Kerala. 


No words required! Enjoy!!!


Oct 1, 2021

Blooms in 2021...


Phew! I have made it back to my blog before I completed one whole year of absence. Well, just about... Because as you can see, my last post was written on the 2nd of October, 2020. After that, I didn't feel like sharing anything on the blog. Instead, I dug deep into my cozy space and got entrenched in an effort to shut out the crazy world as much as possible. 

We have had our portion of goodbyes, the most painful being the demise of a brother-figure, a standup guy who was just 42. As I write this, my sister-in-law and her family are in their second week of Covid infection, resting at home in isolation. Fortunately, all of them are doing ok after the initial fever and symptoms.

Meanwhile, some things have been blooming here at Karthi...

like this morning glory vine that I have managed to keep alive in my balcony garden which you might remember... I bought this vine back in March from a nursery on the way back from Kottayam.

Then there is this beauty... 


... who came with us from Vandiperiyar when we went there in December for the only pleasure trip we've undertaken in the Covid era. She put out her first, single bloom just in time for DH's birthday in August. This time, there is another branch with promise of more to come...



 

This year, I have been able to take better care of my garden, pruning it back into shape, trimming, mulching and fertilizing on a regular basis. My cousin gave me a mulberry cutting three years ago. Look what I found last weekend!

 

 

Sometimes, I feel that the garden I am trying to grow is the one I am recreating from my mother's family home in my childhood. I have succeeded in getting the coral jasmine to bloom. The mulberry is another childhood favorite. My old friend the mulberry tree is still thriving at Kottayam although when I go there, I forget to visit. You could call my mulberry a granddaughter of that tree, because my cousin took a cutting to her home and grew it there, and I got mine from hers. Now if I could only get the plant that we knew as Nakshatra Mulla (star jasmine), a bushy variety of jasmine that truly looked like stars scattered over a velvety dark green bush. Two of those flanked the entrance to the front yard at my mother's home. Our childhood pictures were mostly taken at the side of either of them. 

Apart from gardening, copy editing, and a little bit of creative writing, here is what I have been up to...



This project has just completed two years in the making and is no where near finished. Gaaah!!!

More on that later. Meanwhile, if any of you love books, take a look at the tabs above where I have listed the books I have been reading since 2017! 

Hope to see you all again next week! Stay safe!



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